Lady Tigers are headed to the Sweet 16

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ATTICA — It wasn’t easy, but Galion proved it had the better volleyball team on Thursday.

The No. 7-ranked Lady Tigers bested No. 5 Huron at Seneca East High School in a Division III district championship match to advance to the OHSAA regional tournament next week.

Sweet Sixteen action for Galion begins Thursday, Oct. 31, at Lake High School in Millbury against Ottawa-Glandorf, the top-ranked Division III team in the state. The match starts at 7:30 p.m. Ottawa-Glandorf won the district title in Defiance with a 3-1 win over Sherwood Fairview. The other two teams competing for a spot in that regional are No. 19 Johnstown-Monroe and No. 20. Cardington.

On Thursday, still riding the thrill of advancing to their first district championship game in eight seasons, Galion outlasted Huron to win the title. They picked up the victory in the first set by a tally of 25-20. They won the second set, also 25-20.

Huron would respond however, rallying back to cut the deficit to 2-1 as they upended Galion in the third, 25-18.

But the Huron momentum didn’t last. Galion ended Huron’s regional tournament quest in Set No. 4 with a 25-22 win. With the victory, the Lady TIgers upped their record to 24-1 this year.

Defense would once again play a huge part in the Lady Tigers‘ victory as the team racked up 78 total digs and eight blocks at the net. Senior Nicole Thomas had a second consecutive game with 22 digs to lead the way. Six different Galion players recorded blocks, led by senior Gillian Miller with three.

From the service line, the orange and blue finished at a 79/87 mark, good for 38 points on seven aces. Samantha Comer concluded her evening flawless at the line, going 17/17 for seven points and an ace. Kate Schieber served up a perfect 14/14 performance, netting seven points and an ace while Thomas finished at 19/19 for a dozen points and one ace.

Galion racked up 63 kills on 58 assists against Huron as Kayla Hardy tallied 54 assists with Comer and Jaden Ivy tying for the lead in kills on the team with 17 apiece. Right behind Ivy and Comer was Taylor Keeran with 16 kills.

Other stats from Thursday’s district title game were: Comer- 1 block, 18 digs, 1 assist; Kerrigan Myers- 8 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs; Keeran- 10/13 serving, 5 points, 1 ace; Ivy- 10/12 serving, 4 points, 1 ace, 1 block, 12 digs, 1 assist; Miller- 4 kills, 1 dig; Hardy- 9/12 serving, 3 points, 2 aces, 1 kill; 1 block, 14 digs; Schieber- 5 digs and Thomas- 2 assists.

District semifinals

Galion 3, Willard 1

ATTICA — On Tuesday, Galion knocked off Willard 3-1 in a D-III district semifinal.

Galion, the top-seed in the Attica District, won 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19. Willard’s victory in the second set of the match ended the Tigers’ 55-set winning streak but the consecutive match winning streak extended to 20 with the semis victory. Galion improved their overall record to 23-1 with the win over the Lady Flashes.

The contest on Tuesday proved to be the first true test that the Galion Lady Tigers had faced since an Aug. 28 showdown atDivision I Bishop Watterson, who, according to the final Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll, is ranked No. 18 in the State of Ohio in their division.

After a hard fought victory in the first set in which Willard pushed Galion to the very final point, the Crimson Flashes returned the favor in set number two, winning by a score of 25-23, thus ending the Lady Tigers’ 55-set winning streak. The Lady Flashes took advantage of the fact that the Tigers traditionally struggle in the second set of a match, despite the outcome of the opening set.

However, also in true Galion fashion, the top-seeded Lady Tigers would hunker down and show their grit to hold on for victories in sets three and four to advance to the district championship game in Division III play for the first time since moving to the division back in 2015. The past two seasons have seen the Tigers get bounced in the district semis against the Crestview Lady Cougars.

As a team, the orange and blue posted a total of 58 kills on 50 assists, finished with 81 digs and 14 blocks defensively and served the ball up at an 89/96 clip, leading to 48 points with four aces.

Ivy, Keeran and Comer all finished in double-figures in kills on Tuesday, led by 19 from Ivy. Keeran threw down 18 kills with Comer adding 17 on the night. Hardy racked up 48 assists on the evening while Comer and Miller added one assist apiece.

Comer and Keeran also had huge nights defensively as Comer led the team with 23 digs and added three blocks with Keeran posting eight total blocks and a pair of digs.

Schieber and Thomas had huge nights serving for the Galion Lady Tigers as Schieber finished flawless at 20/20, tallying 14 points and an ace with Thomas going 21/21 for 11 points while adding an ace. Thomas also racked up 22 digs defensively to help lead the Tigers to the district finals game.

Photo courtesy of Erin Miller Galion junior Jaden Ivy leads the celebration following Tuesday’s district semifinals victory over Willard in a Division III district semifinal at Seneca East High School.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2019/10/web1_Jaden-and-squad-rejoice-3.jpgPhoto courtesy of Erin Miller Galion junior Jaden Ivy leads the celebration following Tuesday’s district semifinals victory over Willard in a Division III district semifinal at Seneca East High School.

Photo courtesy of Erin Miller

Kerrigan Myers soars at the net during Tuesday’s district semifinals contest against the Willard Lady Crimson Flashes. Myers and the Galion Lady Tigers ended Willard’s season, winning 3-1 to move on to the title game against the Huron Lady Tigers.

https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2019/10/web1_Kerrigan-2.jpgPhoto courtesy of Erin Miller

Kerrigan Myers soars at the net during Tuesday’s district semifinals contest against the Willard Lady Crimson Flashes. Myers and the Galion Lady Tigers ended Willard’s season, winning 3-1 to move on to the title game against the Huron Lady Tigers.

Photo courtesy of Erin Miller

Galion’s Taylor Keeran posted 35 kills over a two-game stretch at the Attica District portion of the Lady Tigers’ Division III tourney run. Galion defeated Willard in the semis and then claimed a district crown on Thursday over Huron by a tally of 3-1.

https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2019/10/web1_Taylor-2.jpgPhoto courtesy of Erin Miller

Galion’s Taylor Keeran posted 35 kills over a two-game stretch at the Attica District portion of the Lady Tigers’ Division III tourney run. Galion defeated Willard in the semis and then claimed a district crown on Thursday over Huron by a tally of 3-1.

Photo courtesy of Erin Miller

The 2019 Division III, Attica District champion Galion Lady Tigers. Galion defeated Huron on Thursday to claim the title and advance to the state Sweet 16 where they will clash with the top-ranked Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans on Thursday, October 31 at Lake High School in Millbury at 7:30 p.m.

https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2019/10/web1_2019-District-Champions-2.jpgPhoto courtesy of Erin Miller

The 2019 Division III, Attica District champion Galion Lady Tigers. Galion defeated Huron on Thursday to claim the title and advance to the state Sweet 16 where they will clash with the top-ranked Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans on Thursday, October 31 at Lake High School in Millbury at 7:30 p.m.

Galion holds off Huron to win district championship

 

By Chad Clinger

[email protected]

 

 

Follow Chad on Twitter @GalionSportsGuy

Reach Chad at 419-468-1117 x2048

 

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